Chamber and committees

Our next item of business is to discuss correspondence that the committee has received recently. I refer members to paper 3. You will see that our clerks have suggested some ideas of how we may want to take forward the various issues. I will open it up to members to raise any points or make any suggestions.

I will take the letters in turn. The first is correspondence from the Scottish Prison Service on the cost of the women’s estate.

That brings us nicely to the end of our allocated time. I thank you both for attending. If any members have follow-up questions, we will send them to you in writing.

We will now have a short suspension to allow for a changeover of witnesses.

In essence, I mean the impact on service delivery.

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with the United Kingdom Government on matters impacting the Scottish economy. (S6O-01488)

Aberdeen and the rest of the north-east have made significant contributions to UK Government coffers through the energy sector. In return, the north-east of Scotland has been gifted Brexit—with Aberdeen being the worst-hit UK city, at a cost of £9,000 per person—turmoil in the housing market, and sky-high energy bills, which have damaged families and forced small businesses to close. Does the Deputy First Minister agree that it is time for the UK Government to stop treating the north-east as a cash cow and that Rishi Sunak must get a grip on the economy, which his party has ruined?

I thank the minister for his very welcome update regarding the recently announced funding for Aberdeen City Council.

I have had the absolute privilege of working with two constituents who hosted a Ukrainian couple who are now settled in their own home and are working, with a son in education. However, despite my constituents’ best efforts, obstacles remain that prevent Ukrainian holders of heavy goods vehicle licences, such as Oleksandr, from obtaining an equivalent United Kingdom licence and securing employment in a sector in which there are significant labour shortages.

Will the Minister explain what he is doing to press the UK Government to address that unnecessary anomaly as a matter of urgency?

I am mindful of the time and the fact that there are other members who want to come in on this topic. I will bring in Katy Clark, who has not yet asked any questions of our fire service witnesses, and then Pauline McNeill. If there is time, I will bring in Russell Findlay.

I will bring in Fulton MacGregor then Russell Findlay to bring our evidence session to a close.

Good morning, and welcome to the 26th meeting in 2022 of the Criminal Justice Committee. We have received no apologies. Pauline McNeill joins us online.

Our first item of business is to decide whether to take in private item 7 on the agenda and, at future meetings, consideration of oral evidence and any draft letters as part of our pre-budget scrutiny. Are we agreed to do that?

Members indicated agreement.

Our next agenda item is consideration of a negative instrument. I refer members to paper 2.

Do members have any questions about the instrument?

No member has indicated that they wish to comment. Are members content for the committee not to make any recommendations to Parliament on the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.